The Chicago Institute
by Just Another Fanatic
Summary: Oliver was saved by a mysterious man during the war against the Endarkened. Now, nine years later, with the Clave still recovering from the slaughter, he encounters the man again, and his daughter Laura. Training her won't be hard, but her best friend who has the sight, Kate, that will be a different story.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Oliver squeezed his green eyes closed. His small arms were wrapped tightly around his little sister, Jane. She was crying and confused. There were so many other children, and yet they weren't allowed to play, or go outside. Oliver didn't quite grasp what was happening, but he knew that it was danger. His grandmother had carried Jane the whole way in one arm, holding his hand with her other. They had run harder than Oliver had ever run before, and all the way from the Foxtrot Estate outside the city. Luckily, it wasn't too far from the city, because by the time they had stopped, Oliver had been winded.

"Don't let your sister go," Grandma had told him once they were settled in. They were in the back corner, away from any windows. His grandmother had then brushed some of his unruly light brown hair from his face and kissed his forehead, before repeating with Jane. "Stay right here."

Oliver nodded as she stood up. "I love both of you, so much," she said. She then pulled out her Stele and began to draw runes on her arms. In all of Oliver's life, living with her since he was four, he had never seen his grandmother draw a single rune on herself. The ones she did have were old, faded. But, all the adults Oliver had seen were in gear, all runed up. A few of the older kids, ones that had trained, stood near the door, runes all over their bodies, but even Oliver could see that they were shaking, afraid.

"Are we going to die?" Oliver heard a boy, maybe a year younger than he was, ask what appeared to be his older sister.

"No, we're not," the girl said. She held a sword, but had only two runes on her.

Oliver sat shaking, making sure he didn't cry, and holding onto Jane with all his might. If he let go, she'd go running, looking for their grandparents. Oliver didn't know what was happening outside, but he could hear swords hitting and screams and he knew it was a battle. If Oliver let go, Jane would run into a battle and get killed.

The screaming was what alerted Oliver that the enemy had broken through. It was hard to tell if the red that they wore was their clothing or blood.

Oliver wrapped his arms tighter around Jane as she screamed. He was only seven, he couldn't fight off fairies or Shadowhunters. They were closing in and Oliver didn't know what to do.

And then his grandmother was there again. There was blood splattered across her face, but she didn't seem to notice, or just didn't care. She had a sword drawn, holding it with her right hand as her left arm dangled helplessly at her side. Oliver marveled as she spun, her sword cutting deep into the side of one of the Endarkened Shadowhunters. There was a squelching sound as she drew it back and turned to fight another off.

"Grandma!" Oliver yelled as he noticed the Endarkened Shadowhunter she had sliced into wasn't dead. He lifted his sword, staring at the two with no emotions in his eyes. But, as his sword fell, his grandmother inserted herself between the sword, and her grandchildren. She fell down, and did not move as the puddle of her blood spread, soaking Oliver's shoes.

"No!" Oliver yelled, and this time he pushed Jane behind him, standing in front of her small form. The Shadowhunter did not care as he lifted his sword again. Oliver closed his eyes and waited for the killing blow.

It didn't come.

When he opened his eyes again, a red-haired man stood before him, wearing jeans and a blue and red Mundane shirt. The Shadowhunter that had slain his grandmother was dead, and all the man held was a small knife.

He knelt before Oliver. "Are you all right?" He asked, his voice gentle.

Oliver nodded. "Behind-"

He hadn't even finished speaking and the man had spun around, kicking a fae down. The creature went sprawling, and then another sword took off its head.

All of a sudden, the red-wearing Shadowhunters all fell at once. The Fae all ran. And the man disappeared as well.

It would be nine more years before Oliver would see the man again.


	2. I

Chapter I

"Ready! Okay!"

Until she had turned thirteen, Laura Hart and her friends had always thought that cheerleaders were ridiculous. Always so bright and cheery, smiling wide and moving like robots, trying to be in perfect sync, but never quite getting it. As well, in every story and television show, cheerleaders were conniving bitches that slept with every jock that approached them.

Laura and her friends always laughed when the cheerleaders, or at least those that they knew would be future cheerleaders, squealed about something 'icky' or cried about a broken nail or flat hair. Instead, Laura was much more inclined to allow spiders climb over her fingers and laugh about a skinned knee or play soccer in the mud with the boys that lived down the block from her.

But, when she turned thirteen and her small elementary school combined with five others into a large junior high, all the pretty girls from the other schools immediately clicked and they wanted Laura as well.

Laura had never considered herself pretty, exactly. Interesting, yes, but she thought that her face was rather awkward. But, with her pale red hair, aqua blue eyes, and naturally pale complexion, it seemed they could tell that she was about to bloom.

So, while all her other friends from elementary school tried out for the school basketball team, something Laura had always been good with, Laura herself was trying out for cheerleading. With ten years of seven different martial arts under her belt, cheerleading was easy.

Of course, no one knew that her father had been training her in martial arts since she was three. Everyone knew that she knew a little karate, but they didn't know about the other six kinds, nor the level at which she was at.

By the time she was fourteen and about the start high school, Laura was acclimated to being a cheerleader. She always styled her glossed red hair with blowouts or intricate braids rather than throwing it up into a sloppy pony-tail. She took care of her nails, always painted aqua to match her eyes. Her baggy jeans turned into short skirts, her graphic tees into cute blouses, and her dirty sneakers into heels.

Two things didn't change. Her father's midnight martial arts lessons, which had begun to include different types of weapons, and her best friend, the boy next door. All her friends were heads over heels for him, and Laura knew why. Jason was cute, nice, smart, and lean with a runner's body.

"Again, girls," the high school freshman cheerleading coach called.

It was only try-outs, but already Marilee Norma was running the girls hard. Of the over one-hundred girls that had arrived at the first day of the try-out, only about twenty percent returned the second day. Apparently, a lot of girls didn't realize that cheerleading was a sport.

Laura stood in her spot near the center. She was on the taller end, so she usually was near the center, though she wasn't exactly a tower. Laura knew that taller girls were never lifted into the air, but that didn't bother her. She doubted a lot of the girls had the strength needed to lift others like she did. With her grace, her ability, and her strength, she was an asset.

The hardest part would be learning the routines.

"Miss Norma was way harsh today," Kate said as the girls were released. They had returned to the locker rooms to fix themselves before they set off to walk to Kate's house. She had the biggest house, lived closest to the school, and had a pool in her back yard. It didn't hurt that Kate had a cute neighbor like Laura, even if Oliver was a bit of a recluse.

"I know," Becca said. The two girls flipped their blonde hair off their shoulders.

The two were considered twins, though they weren't. They looked so similar, both small girls with long golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes, rosy cheeks and full pink lips. Guys fell over themselves to talk to one of them, and literally drooled when the two of them were together.

With Laura and Maggie in tow as well, it was surprising that they didn't have a small gang of boys following them.

"Seriously," Maggie said before pulling on one of her auburn curls.

Laura, however, didn't say anything. To her, the day had been easy. Only ran one mile. Very little conditioning. The day before had been grueling for most, but a moderate work-out for her compared to her father's work-outs, because before her midnight martial arts lessons, they did conditioning work. They ran, climbed stairs, did push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, rode bikes, swam, worked on things like flexibility, and staying nimble. Honestly, sometimes Laura thought her father was certain that they were going to be attacked any minute.

"Mom!" Kate called but didn't get an answer. "Aaron?" Still nothing. "Well, the dweeb is at camp for the week, so I guess the house is ours for the meantime."

"Perf," Becca said. She reached into her duffle and pulled out her bikini. "Let's catch some rays and hope for an Oliver Foxtrot sighting."

"Ah-greed," Maggie said. The four girls giggled and within ten minutes were sitting around the pool, drinking ginger ale they were convinced looked like champagne, waiting to see if Oliver would show. Maggie pulled her phone out and snapped a few selfies, which she immediately posted to her social media.

Laura kept to the shade for half an hour while she waited to make sure her waterproof SPF 50 had sunk in. As pale-skinned as Laura was, she easily burned, and had once turned more red than her hair. Back then, she laughed it off, but with her new friends, it would be a horror.

"Laura, the sun does no good if you're in the shade," Kate said, noticing as Laura was checking to make sure she had gotten her whole back.

"I know," Laura said. "But the sunblock does no good if I don't give it a chance to sink in."

"You, honestly, just need to get a little color in your skin," Maggie said, grabbing her sunglasses and slipping them over her eyes, then down her nose as she posed for another selfie.

"I think she looks good pale," Becca said. "I mean, she's not the sickly kind of pale like..." She nodded her head toward the neighboring house. Oliver's younger sister, Jane, was paler than Laura was, though it did not suit her quite as well.

Kate and Maggie both nodded vehemently while Laura looked in the direction of the Foxtrot estate. It was expansive, like Kate's, but it also was more heavily gated. Laura knew from past sleepovers that small animals, such as a raccoon, could trip the fence's security and turn on blazing lights which woke all the neighbors. Many had complained, but nothing had been done to alter the problem.

Laura noted as Oliver and Jane walked outside. Oliver sat in the shade of an elm tree, leaning against the trunk with an old, ragged book in hand. He eyed his sister for a moment before he opened it. Jane, however, saw the girls and approached the fence. A year younger than the girls, they had had plenty of encounters with the pale, brunette girl.

"Hi," she said breezily, and then hopped the fence as if it had only been a foot or two tall, not up to her chin.

"Doesn't crossing the fence trip an alarm?" Kate asked without any kind of greeting.

"We turn it off during the day," Jane said. "When we're home and awake." She walked forward, not realizing the glares from the blondes or how Maggie outright ignored her existence.

"Well, then you do realize you're trespassing," Kate said, rolling her perfect blue eyes.

Laura didn't have the heart to be cruel to the girl, or the guts to stand up for her. She offered the girl a weak smile when her friends weren't looking. She smiled back and then turned to Kate. "It's not trespassing if you say I'm allowed to be here."

"I didn't," Kate said.

"What, it's not like I'm a vampire or something," Jane said.

"Sorry, but we're _nawt_ Edward Cullen fans here," Becca said.

"Who's Edward Cullen?" Jane asked.

"It's a Mundane thing," Oliver called from the fence. Laura was surprised. She hadn't notice him move and she usually did notice things others didn't.

"You might think so," Becca said as she and Kate turned toward him. "But mills of preteen fangirls would gasp at such a notion."

"Not that we think much of him either," Kate said. She smiled and stood up, knocking her hip against Jane as she walked past, knocking the younger girl off balance and into the pool. She, Becca, and Maggie all broke out laughing, but Laura was concerned that the girl didn't surface after a moment.

"Shit, Kate!" Laura yelled, before diving in, swimming up to Jane's shocked form, and grasping her under the arms before kicking to the surface. She heard Jane sputtering and coughing when they broke from the water, which was better than an alternative, because Laura was _not_ about to deliver CPR.

"Oh my _gawd_ Laura, are you okay?" Kate asked, as Laura crawled out of the water, having already helped Jane crawl out.

"I'm fine," Laura said. She rung her hair out.

"Why don't you watch were you're going," Maggie snapped at Jane. "Laura could have gotten hurt diving in to save you."

Jane just stared at the girls for a moment, before running and returning her own side of the fence. Laura sighed as she noticed Jane walk into her house. "You know," Laura said a moment later. "I think I'm gonna go home. My dad might be wondering where I am."

"If he would just let you get a cell phone, that wouldn't be a problem," Maggie said, snapping a photo of Laura with her phone. "Posting your heroic tale on Facebook for all to know."

"Oh, what fun," Laura said. "Everyone will be inviting me over to be a lifeguard."

"At least they'll be inviting you," Kate reminded her.

Laura took a deep breath and sighed before taking her leave. She was about a block away when she heard footsteps behind her. She glanced back to see Oliver. "Is there a reason you're following me?" She asked.

"So, you can see me," he said, catching up to her.

Laura lifted a red eyebrow. "Of course I can see you," she said. "I'm not blind and the sun is still out." She looked forward. "So is there a reason that you're talking to me? Not that I mind, but you never have before."

"You didn't need to save Jane," Oliver said. "She would have emerged eventually."

"Yeah, well, eventually isn't so good if eventually is after she drowns."

Oliver laughed and shook his head, and Laura had to try hard not to admire how his dark hair brushed his cheeks as he did. She figured she didn't have a chance with him, as he was sixteen, but she liked to fantisize about it anyway. She glanced at him, and noticed his green eyes on her. But, then again, facts were facts. He was going to be a junior. She was only going to be a freshman. Upperclassmen didn't date freshmen except when sex was involved. And even then, actually dating was rare.

"She knows how to swim," Oliver said. "She's actually pretty good at it. I just don't think she expected to get pushed into the pool."

Laura felt her cheeks flush a bit. "I'm sorry Kate did that," she said.

"I'm not," Oliver said. "It'll teach her that she is not like your friends." He looked at her straight on. "Now, I just wonder what it'll take for you to realize that you're not like them either."

"Just because I'm not their clone doesn't mean that I can't be their friend," Laura said. She was feeling offended again.

"You're better than they are," Oliver said.

"You know nothing about me," Laura said, her voice dark. "Or anything about them."

"I've lived next door to Kate for eight years," Oliver said. "I think that I do know her pretty well."

"How many conversations have you actually had with her?" Laura asked. He didn't speak. "That's what I thought." With that, she quickened her pace.

It only took her about half an hour to walk the two miles to her house, having slowed down once Oliver had left her alone. However, when she was walking up to her door, she heard the squeaking garage opening for the house next door. She looked over to see that Jason was in the garage. She smiled, and gave up going inside her house. Instead, she put her bag down on her front stoop and walked next door.

Jason didn't notice her right away as he was fiddling with his record player. He insisted that nothing but vinyl sounded any good.

"You know, if you just got an iPod, your life would be so much easier," she said. He turned to her and smiled.

"But it would have that electronic buzz to it," Jason said, brushing his light brown hair back. "This will sound smoother, more authentic."

Laura leaned against the support beam in the center of the garage which prevented them from putting a car inside. "So, what old record did you dig up this time? Sinatra? Sugar facotory Gumdrop?"

Jason laughed. "I think you'll like this one," he said, moving the needle into place. "This is the Kinks."

"Do I even want to know how that name came about?" Laura asked.

Jason just laughed again. "Listen," he said, pressing the button to start the spinning record. Immediately, an electric guitar sounded through the room. Laura listened and smiled a bit. It was definitely better than some of the other records that Jason had played. Rock, real rock and not the fifties bebop version that she was used to hearing from Jason's garage. As well, watching Jason as he sang along was entertaining.

Suddenly, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to dance with him, though dancing was more of jumping and shaking their heads and shoulders. It was fun and a little childish, but that was one thing Laura loved about Jason. He did whatever he wanted, just because he wanted to with no regard for how others would view him. Some people didn't admire it the way Laura did, but regardless, it hadn't affected how girls stared at him and dreamed about him asking them out.

After listening to the song "Lola," which had both of them on the ground laughing, Laura noticed how the sun was setting. She heard her father's voice, calling for her.

Laura sighed. "I gotta go," she said, standing up.

"See ya," Jason said, a slick smile on his face. "Lola."

"OMG, Jason, did you _seriously_ just call me that?" Laura shrieked while Jason just laughed. "You just compared me to a drag queen!"

Before he could respond, Laura's father, Lorne, appeared, his green eyes quickly scanning the area. Laura rolled her blue eyes. "I'm fine, Dad," she said with an annoyed sigh. "Jason's just being a jerk."

Lorne Hart sighed, loosening his stance. "Don't scream like that, Laura," he said. Laura could never place his accent. Her mother, she knew, was from Jersey. Her father, she didn't know anything about his past before she was born. In fact, the first few years of her own life were a mystery before they settled into their current house.

Laura bid Jason good-bye and followed her dad home. Even though it was late, Illiana was just setting dinner on the table. "Are you hungry, Laura?"

"Starved," Laura said, taking a seat.

"How about you wash your hands before you eat," Lorne said, opening the refrigerator and pulling out the water pitcher.

Laura sighed, but did as was told, walking to the bathroom. She closed her eyes as she turned on the faucet and listened to her parents talking.

"You really should tell her, Lorne," Illiana said. "She would understand the training. You know they will come for her, eventually."

"They haven't found us yet," Lorne said. "I have no reason to believe they will in the future."

"The murders, Lorne," Illiana said. "We both know what is happening, and we know what they will bring. It could affect Laura."

As soon as Laura turned off the sink, her parents stopped talking. Laura constantly heard them talking while they thought she couldn't hear them. Usually, it didn't make sense. She had no idea what murders her parents were speaking about. When she returned to the kitchen, her mother was putting a chicken breast on her plate and she was questioned about cheerleading try-outs.

* * *

"Are you sure, Ollie?" Charles Foxtrot questioned, pulling on a black boot.

"Why would I lie?" Oliver asked. "I put the invisibility rune on and she still saw me."

"Maybe you just thought she saw you," Monica Foxtrot said. She had out a stele, and was carefully runing her husband's back.

"We spoke. We had a real conversation," Oliver said. "I'm telling you, Laura Hart has the Sight. She's also not a bitch like her friends. She's brave. She could make a great Shadowhunter. We should at least approach her."

Monica sighed and turned her green eyes to her son. "We'll contact the Clave. Maybe they'll even send in Simon Lovelace."

"We're gonna meet Simon!" Jane's voice called from up the stairs. "The Simon!"

"No, we're not," Charles said. "Not unless we know this girl has the Sight."

"I'm telling you," Oliver said. "She does." He strapped on a boot, and then grabbed a Seraph Blade, slipping it into his belt. "Let me talk to her. Truly verify that she has the Sight. And then move forward from there."

Charles looked at Monica and sighed. "Verify, and only that," he said. "And then you report back to me. We'll then take it from there." He shrugged on his coat. "But first, we have a job to do."

Oliver nodded. There was another murderous demon around and the Conclave had ordered the Foxtrot men out on the hunt as they knew the area the demon was preying better than any other Shadowhunters.


	3. II

Chapter II

"You will bring in your book everyday," Mr. Harris said to his freshman World History class. "And you will put a cover on your book."

The clipboard that was being passed around the class made it to Laura. She looked inside her book for the book number. 13. _Just my luck_ , she thought as she wrote her name next to the number.

"Oh, twenty-seven, my lucky number." Laura heard Kate behind her when she passed the clipboard. Laura was pretty sure every number was Kate's lucky number.

"And I don't want any of those stretchy nylon covers," Mr. Harris continued. "Those aren't big enough and ruin the binding. Get a paper bag from a grocery store and fashion that into a cover. If you don't know how to do that properly, come into school early tomorrow, I'll be here at 7:30 to show you all how to properly cover your book."

"He's just talking bull," the boy next to Laura said, leaning toward her. "My brother had him last year, his cover was off within two days and Harris never said a word."

"That's good to know," Laura said politely. She glanced at him. Dark brown hair that fell messily about his head, an olive-toned skin, cute if not a young face with a curved chin and long eye-lashes that Laura would kill for.

"My name's Brody," he said, giving her a smirk.

"I'm Kate." The blonde girl was suddenly leaning forward against Laura's back.

His eyes looked to Kate for a moment before returning to Laura. "Laura," she finally said.

"Sweet," he said with a smile, his teeth brightly white while his canines were a little more pointed than most people's. "When do you have lunch?"

"Fifth," Kate said. "Both of us." She flipped some hair off her shoulder. "We're cheerleaders."

"Ah, is that so?" Brody asked. "So I take it that you'll be cheering the football team, but not for soccer?"

"Depends if I have a good enough reason to go to soccer," Kate said. She flashed her bright white smile.

"Of course, talking during my class is unacceptable," Mr. Harris said, suddenly standing over Brody, Laura, and Kate. "Now, as today is the first day of classes, an apology will suffice."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Harris," Kate said immediately. "It will never happen again."

"Agreed," Laura said.

Brody nodded. "Sorry," he said.

"So, we'll see you at lunch?" Kate asked as the students packed up their items when the bell rang.

"Sure," Brody said with a smile. Again, Laura noticed his teeth.

"He's a cutie," Kate said to Laura when the two girls turned the opposite way from him.

"Yeah, I noticed," Laura said. "But inviting him to our lunch table? What will Maggie and Becca think?"

"Oh, believe me, I'm not the only one inviting a cute boy," Kate said. She winked at Laura. "Feel free to invite someone you meet before lunch. Or Jason."

Laura thought for a moment, then nodded. "I will," she said. Though, she wasn't so bold to invite a stranger. She just wished she had a phone so she could shoot Jason a text.

"Laura!" Becca called when she was in the science hall. There was no way, Laura knew, that Becca was in her class. They had been two levels apart in the eighth grade.

"Hey, Becks," Laura said when Becca caught up to her.

"Lemme see your schedge," Becca said. Laura handed over her schedule.

"Let's see, we already knew lunch," she said. "We both have science, but we're in different classes." She stuck her tongue out at Laura playfully. "Smartypants." She looked again. "Oh, look, we have health together."

Laura looked over Becca's shoulder. "So we do," she said. She smiled. "Well, that's luck."

"I gots to go," Becca said. She rolled her blue eyes. "Class calls. See you in fifty." And then she was handing Laura her schedule back as she walked into a room. Laura was across the hall.

To her surprise, Oliver Foxtrot was sitting in the back row. He smirked at her when she walked in. She took a breath before deciding to brave sitting next to him. "Either I'm in the wrong class, or you're really bad at biology."

Oliver chuckled. "This is an _honors_ sophomore class," he said.

"And aren't you a junior?" Laura asked.

"Okay, it's mostly a sophomore class," Oliver said. "I took earth science last year. My guess is that you took that in junior high?"

Laura looked away and saw that Oliver was right. It was mostly sophomores. A few she recognized from junior high, as being a grade above, but most she didn't recognize. Aside from Oliver, she had never spoken to any of them.

"Okay, class, settle down," their teacher, a young woman with long black hair said stepping into the room. She dropped a small pile of papers on the front desk of each row. "This is our syllabus for the semester. Please take a moment to introduce yourself to the person next to you if you don't already know him or her. This will be your lab partner for the semester." Laura looked at Oliver, who was simply looking at the syllabus. She wondered briefly how she would explain to her friends that she was partnered with Oliver in one of her classes. They would no doubt squeal in excitement.

"Hey, we'll probably need to exchange numbers at some point," Oliver said toward the end of class.

"Oh, um, yeah," Laura nodded. "My number is 847-555-4720," she said quickly.

"I'll text you my number," Oliver said typing on his phone.

"Um, that's actually a landline," Laura said. "I don't have a cell."

Oliver turned to her and lifted an eyebrow. Somehow, it made him look very sexy. "Really?" He asked.

Laura wasn't sure why the next words left her mouth. "Do you want to sit with me at lunch?"

Oliver stared at her. He usually spent his lunches in the library, or spying on people in the gym, looking for potentials to be Shadowhunters. He'd found one boy that went to the Academy, graduated, survived Ascension and was stationed in India, but that had been when he first started Junior High. Laura was the first person since that he thought could be a potential Shadowhunter.

"Sorry," Laura said when he didn't respond. "I wasn't thinking. Of course you don't want to sit with a bunch of Freshmen." Oliver shook his head, a bit relieved he didn't need to come up with an excuse.

He did, however, reach over and write his number on her syllabus. "That's my personal cell... in case you ever have biology questions."

Laura smirked. "I'm pretty sure you're the one that will be calling me," she said. With that, she stood up just as the bell rang.

Oliver watched as Laura exited the room. She had, once again, surprised him. He had assumed that he'd have a difficult time finding a reason to talk to her again. Stalking her didn't seem like a good option, but she had sat next to him. He was still certain that she had the sight and the spirit.

His phone buzzed as he reached the hall and he pulled it out to see a text from his father.

 **Conclave meeting tonight. 7 o'clock. Watch your sister while we're there.**

He sighed. There had been a lot of meetings at The Institute recently, and he had been relegated to watching Jane every time because he was still a minor. He thought that if they allowed him to fight, he should at least know the full extent of what was happening.

* * *

"Hey, look who I happened to find," Maggie said, approaching the table Laura and Becca were already sitting at. Jason was with her, wearing a Batman graphic shirt that Laura knew he'd had since he was eleven. It had been a little big when he got it, but now it fit him tight, showing his shoulders to be a little broader than Laura had thought.

"Hi, girls," Jason said, slipping into the seat next to Maggie. She smiled brightly.

"Hey, Jason," Laura said with a small smile. She knew Kate would question as to why she hadn't brought a cute guy of her own.

A moment later, a boy was sitting next to her, and she looked over to see Brody. Of course, Kate was already with him, having him carry her books. Kate easily slipped into the seat next to Brody. "Laura, you didn't invite anyone to sit with us?"

Laura felt her cheeks turn red. "Actually, I kind of did, but he declined," she said.

"He declined?" Becca asked. "Who'd you ask? Oliver Foxtrot or something."

Laura forced a laugh. "Funny you would mention that," she said slowly.

"Seriously?" Maggie asked. "You asked Oliver Foxtrot?"

"I didn't mean to," Laura said. "It just kind of came out."

"Who's Oliver Foxtrot?" Jason asked looking between the girls.

"I'm wondering too," Brody said.

"Oh, he's just this junior that I happen to live next door to," Kate said. "And, Laura, we all know that Oliver Foxtrot is for looking at, not talking to."

Laura looked to the side. "That might be a little hard," she said. "We're biology lab partners."

"Oh, then I take it back," Kate said. "You go after that boy."

At that, Laura rolled her blue eyes. "There is no way that he has any interest in me."

"Well, he'd be a fool not to notice you," Brody said. At that, Laura's cheeks went red.

"Oh, yes, girls, and Jason," Kate stole the attention again. "This is Brody. Brody, these are Becca, Maggie, and Jason." She turned to the others. "He's in my history class with Laura."

"Oh, we should compare schedges," Becca said, leaning forward.

"Schedges?" Brody asked, looking at Laura.

"She means schedule," Laura said. "It takes a few days to get used to Becca's interesting use of the English language."

"We sometimes call it Becklish," Maggie said matter-of-factly. She then turned a smile to Jason. "I can give you lessons in Becklish if you'd like."

"You know, I think I've heard Laura use bits and pieces of it," Jason said.

"I could use lessons," Brody said. Laura couldn't help but notice his eyes kept drifting to her when she knew he was supposed to be focused on Kate.

"Perf," Kate said. "Dibs it."

"Huh?" Brody asked.

"That's your first lesson," Laura said.

"Maybe I do need lessons," Jason said.

"Dibs it," Maggie said quickly.

Becca pouted. "I'm not _that_ difficult to get," she said.

"Oh, I think I understood that," Brody said quickly. They all laughed as Becca pouted a bit more before sticking her tongue out at him.

* * *

Oliver figured there was no harm doing some training while his parents were at the meeting. Jane was inside doing her Mundane homework, so Oliver turned off the backyard security so he wouldn't set off the sensors. Even with an invisibility charm, electronics still sensed him. It was one of the reasons that the Foxtrot family had installed such strong security. It still picked up on demons that might try to attack their house while they slept.

What Oliver didn't notice was that Kate was in her bedroom window, watching him. She had done so many times, because as she had said earlier, Oliver was for looking at. Personally, there was no one that Kate enjoyed watching more than Oliver, espeically when he was working out in his backyard without a shirt.

However, this time, there was something different. Something felt dark in the air, so while Kate was watching him, she was also doing so from the comfort of the air conditioning. With the window barrier, the light from in her room distorted his image slightly.

Oliver, it seemed, sensed it too as he stopped his push-up, that is handstand push-ups–how he did that, Kate could never figure out. He lowered himself slowly to his feet and reached for an item sheathed in his boot. To Kate, it looked like a stick or rod. He brought it to his forearm and Kate watched in amazement as he used it to write something. She was too far away to make out exactly what it was, but Kate was sure that he didn't have a marker in his hand.

And then something shot out of the tree line at him. He dodged, much faster than a person should be able to dodge. Oliver's round house literally sent the creature, because Kate couldn't discern what it was, flying ten feet. It still landed on its... tentacle-like legs. And then it screamed, a roaring sound like a train, with spittle flying from its enormous mouth.

"Jane!" Oliver yelled. "I need a blade!"

Kate watched in horror. She wondered why lights weren't turning on in the neighboring houses. No one ran outside to see what had roared.

"Kate, would you like a slice of pie?" Her mother's voice floated lazily up to her room.

Kate didn't answer. How was it possible that no one but she was seeing and hearing this.

She didn't see Jane, but suddenly a crystal like blade was flying through the air toward Oliver. He dodged another attack by the monster, then scrambled after the blade. Once he had it, he brought it closer to his face, before it suddenly lit up, shining brightly.

Oliver dodged backwards, rolled further away, all without stabbing himself. On his feet again after just a moment, he sprung forward, slashing down with the blade. He hit the creature, but it wasn't a mortal wound. The creature slashed at Oliver, slicing through his forearm, and Oliver took the moment to stab the blade forward.

"Kate, honey," her mother was in her doorway. "Did you hear me? We've got pie. Lemon meringue." She walked forward and looked out. "What are you watching, oh, Kate, you look like you've seen a ghost." Her mother knelt next to her, placing her hand against Kate's forehead as if checking for a fever.

Kate had trouble breathing as she watched the creature pull in on itself, screaming one more time. There was some black stuff on Oliver, but her mother didn't seem surprised. Or just didn't see.

"There was a bat," Kate said, turning to her mother. "Right up against the window."

Her mother sighed. "For a moment there you had me worried." She smiled. "Come, a slice of pie will calm you down."

Kate nodded, though she doubted she'd be able to swallow.

* * *

 **Hey, thanks for reading. If you like it, please leave a review. I'd really appreciate it. Any advice you want to give me or questions I'd be happy to answer. Thanks!**


	4. III

**Sorry it took a bit of time for this chapter to come out. I had it all written out, and the next to chapters as well. But then, I accidentally deleted it, so I had to rewrite the whole thing and fit it to match up with the next chapter. But, here it is. Read and review please.**

* * *

Chapter III

If there was anyone that Laura knew could talk, it was Maggie. It was only the second day of school, which hadn't even started yet, and she had already been talking without break for twenty minutes. First, it was celebrity gossip. Then something about her social media accounts–Maggie had an extensive social media following. There was something about Anna, one of the other cheerleaders. And then she was talking about getting ice cream after practice.

Becca put in a few words here and there, but nothing compared to Maggie.

Kate was silent. Laura, however, didn't even realize that until the two broke away from Maggie and Becca on their way to history. She assumed Kate would say something, smile about Brody, or ask her when she was going to find a new boy to sit with them.

"You have science with Oliver, right?" Kate asked as they reached the door.

Laura nodded. It was weird hearing her say just 'Oliver' as the girls always referred to him as 'Oliver Foxtrot.' "Why?"

"Does he seem a little... off?" Kate asked.

"You mean like you do right now?" Laura asked in a teasing voice.

Kate didn't react. She just sat down in her seat.

"Okay, what's wrong with you?" Laura asked.

"Nothing," Kate said, waving it off. She smiled, though Laura thought it seemed forced. "But, seriously, about him."

Laura throught for a moment. She could have mentioned their short conversation after she had saved Jane from drowning, but decided not to. "I hardly know him," she finally settled on. "Why?"

She looked at Laura, but then at the people around them. "Never mind," she said as Mr. Harris walked into the classroom. Laura agreed with Kate's thought to end their conversation before they got in trouble again.

"Hey, Brody," Kate said as he slipped into his seat next to Laura. "You're sitting with us at lunch again, right?"

Laura rolled her eyes as she turned forward. Put a cute boy in the picture and Kate was completely predictable. Brody just chuckled a bit and gave her a thumbs up.

When history ended, Laura was surprised that Kate didn't hurry to walk out with Brody. Instead the blonde waited for Laura and walked out with her. "Could you do me a favor?"

"I'm sure you are more than capable of getting Brody's number on your own," Laura said.

"Oh, I already have that," Kate said. "No, I mean, can you see if Oliver has any tattoos, or recent large wounds."

Laura gave Kate a long stare. "Okay, once again you're talking about Oliver Foxtrot, right?"

Kate frowned at Laura, but still managed to look cute doing so. "Do you know any other Olivers?"

"Just making sure," Laura replied, holding up her hands in defense.

"Is there supposed to be a specific tattoo I'm supposed to be looking for?" Laura asked. "Or where, because I'm not going to try to take off his shirt."

"His arms," Kate said. "His forearms."

Laura blinked a few times. "I have a feeling that we'd have noticed by now if he had tattoos there," the redhead said. "I mean, he's not exactly social, but he still isn't going around in hoodies in the summer."

"Just, do me this one favor," Kate said, pleading with her eyes.

Laura sighed, resigned. "Fine," she said. "But, I think you probably want to turn down your own hall, because you don't have science this period."

Kate looked around and seemed to notice she had followed Laura to the science wing. "See you later," Kate said, and turned around, scurrying so she wouldn't be late.

Oliver was already in his seat when Laura turned into the room. She looked at him for a moment, her eyes going to his arms, which were bare from his elbows down. From what she could tell, they were smooth and muscular, with no marks except a small freckle that she noted. She doubted that his freckle was the tattoo or wound that Kate wanted her to look for.

He was bent over a piece of paper on his desk, a single lock of his hair falling out of place to slightly obscure his face, but when Laura took another step closer, he turned to her and she was struck, not for the first time, how handsome he was. He was almost ageless, having lost the soft curves of children, but not having quite gained the sharpness of an adult. If she didn't know how old he was, she could have placed him anywhere between sixteen and twenty-six.

She took the last few steps to her chair and sat down and she felt her cheeks heat up when he smiled at her. "Morning," he said when she didn't say anything.

"Hey," she said quietly. She turned her eyes down to his arms again, briefly, but still saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Did you, uh, do the homework last night?"

She looked at him and noticed that he could lift a single eyebrow, something she had always wanted to be able to do, practiced for hours when she was ten, and had never managed to be able to do. "We didn't have any last night," he said. "Unless, you know, you like working far ahead."

"Oh," Laura said, certain her cheeks were flaming. "No, I didn't... I mean, I got homework for a few other classes. Nevermind. Just ignore me."

Oliver chuckled. "That's hard to do."

Laura tilted her head. "What's hard to do?"

"Ignore you," he said. With that, he turned forward as the bell rang and their teacher stood up.

* * *

Kate debated going to her lunch table again, act as if she hadn't seen Oliver battle a huge monster that disappeared, be the popular cheerleader she was destined to be, but she couldn't shake what she had seen the night before. She had spent her whole second period waiting for a text from Laura, confirming his tattoos or his wound, only to remember at the bell that Laura didn't have a cell phone.

So, she dodged through the crowds to intercept Laura coming out of the science wing. She froze a moment seeing Becca and Laura laughing together. Laura already thought she was going insane, but would at least keep it to herself. Becca would spread the word. Instead, she pasted on a smile and acted surprised to see them.

Laura slipped Kate a note in passing between third and forth period. It simply said _I think you're going cuckoo. He's definitely got no tattoos or scars._

Kate knew what she had seen, so when the bell for fifth rang, Kate tracked down Oliver to his locker. She kept half a hall down from him, and followed him. However, she was quite annoyed following him. First, he traveled to every department office in the building to introduce himself to his new teachers. Kate frowned at that because she hadn't thought of him being a suck-up. Then she followed him to his locker, waiting just around the corner for ten minutes while he rifled through it. Finally, he went to the library, and rather than go on a computer, he selected a book and sat down the read. Kate hid behind a shelving unit spying on him. She looked at the time, and noticed that there were only ten minutes left of lunch and she hadn't eaten. She gave up spying on him, but when she turned toward the exit, he was there in front of her.

"Finally got bored following me around, I see," Oliver said.

Kate gasped. "What makes you think I was following you?" she asked slowly, even though she had been.

"I saw you," he said. He leaned against a bookshelf. "So," he began again. "Are you going to tell me why you were following me?"

Kate pointed a finger at him. "Only if you tell me why you were fighting a monster that screamed like a train last night," she said finally, keeping her voice hushed. After all, she didn't want anyone overhearing them. "And why no one else could hear or see it?"

Oliver lifted his right eyebrow. "You do realize how crazy you sound, right?"

"I saw you," Kate said. She poked him in the chest. She poked a second time, impressed by how hard his chest was, made of pure muscle. "I was watching you exercise shirtless in your back yard–"

"Because that's not like a stalker," Oliver said. Kate pouted, but it didn't affect Oliver. "Do you watch me often? Should I start to exercise in my bedroom? Or do you spy in there too?"

"Shut up!" Kate snapped. People looked over, so she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him out of site of others, further into the stacks.

"Trying to get me alone too?" Oliver asked.

"Stop that!" Kate snapped. She let him go and looked him up and down, before quickly bending down and swiping his Stele from his boot and jumping back. "What is this? You used it to put something on your arm. Something that isn't there anymore."

Oliver's green eyes widened a bit. She was staring at him for a moment, before she gasped. "You _do_ have tattoos, but they can't be seen all the time."

Oliver hid his right hand behind his back, knowing that she had seen his Voyance rune. His other runes were all under his shirt. But he knew exactly what was happening. Kate had the site. He had been invisible the night before and the demon he fought wouldn't have been seen by Mundanes. Not all demons could be seen.

Kate examined his Stele. It was long with a foggy crystal stick, thick enough to not be easy to break, but slim enough to slip easily into a boot, as Oliver had done. The handle was a bone white color with a carved fox head at the end. "What is this, anyway?"

"It's called a Stele and it's fragile," he said, grabbing it back. He slipped it back into his boot.

"What is it?" Kate asked.

Before he could speak, the bell rang, indicating the start of the passing period. There wasn't time to talk. But, Kate wasn't looking ready to leave. "Meet me at the fence between our yards tonight," he said. "I'll explain everything."

Kate's blue eyes widened. "Really?" she asked.

"Really," he said.

Kate nodded. "Tonight then," she said. "I have to go." With that, she hurried out to get to her next class.

* * *

"Missed you during lunch," Maggie said to Kate as the freshman cheerleaders were heading toward the locker room after their practice.

"Yeah, I had to talk to a teacher," Kate said, her eyes down. She did not like lying to her friends, but she couldn't admit she had been following Oliver Foxtrot around for a full period.

"For fifty minutes?" Becca asked. "Whadya do?"

Kate shrugged. "It wasn't anything bad," she said. "But, I went to the library afterwards."

"Why?" Maggie asked. Maggie didn't believe in books.

"It couldn't have been a boy," Becca said, tapping her chin. "Brody was with us."

"It's no big deal," Kate said. "I wasn't hungry and wanted to get ahead on some homework. I have a big load this year. I can't fall behind on the second day of school."

Kate changed silently as all the other girls were chattering. Laura stepped up next to her as she was pulling on her shoes. "You're not sick, are you?"

Kate looked up, then tilted her head. "No, why would you ask that?"

"You're just acting a little weird," Laura said. At least Laura had the courtesy to keep her voice down. "Well, weird for you, at least."

Kate lowered her eyes. "Okay, well, maybe a little," she said. "I mean, I'm not sick, I just feel a little off."

Laura lifted her brows. "Oh," she said, understanding coming to her face. "Well, if you have any questions that you don't want to talk to your mom about, I'm here for you."

It took Kate a moment to understand what Laura was talking about, but when she knew, she felt her face turn red. "I have to go," she said quickly, and grabbed all her things before running out.

"Hello?" she called out, walking into her house.

There was no response, but she heard something in the living room. She walked in to see her brother, Alex, sitting on the couch with a controller in his hand. On the screen, the view was moving about, a rifle drawn and ready to shoot. It was a dark alley, and Kate didn't care to ask what game he was playing. To her, they were all the same.

"Mom and Aaron aren't home," Alex said, not bothering to look at her. "Mom said to order food. She left money on the table."

"What are you in the mood for?" Kate asked, taking a seat.

"Whatever is good with me," he said.

Kate smiled and pulled out her phone, dialing her favorite Chinese place that delivered, ordering kung pow chicken for her and orange chicken for her brother, along with a few egg rolls. "Food will be here in twenty," she said walking past her brother to the stairs. "Could you get it because I'm gonna shower."

Oliver hadn't told her what time to meet him, but she wasn't going to go in her after practice look. She showered quickly, then dug through her closet, looking for a cute outfit. She came up with a white dress and blue flats. She dried and curled her blonde hair, and then reapplied make-up. After all, just because she was sure that she was going crazy and Oliver seemed to be some sort of superhero that killed monsters, he was still very cute. She'd look good.

When she was done, she glanced outside to see that he wasn't at the fence yet. The sun was still on the horizon in the west, so she'd give him a little more time. As it was, she had to eat.

Kate didn't usually spend a lot of time with her brother, unless she was forced to. So, she felt weird sitting in the living room with him as he played his video game. He had finished off all his food by the time Kate took a seat on the chair next to the one he was in. She grabbed her carton of food and slowly ate, keeping her eyes out the window waiting for Oliver to appear. She was _not_ going to be the one waiting outside for him.

"Why are you all dressed up?" Alex asked after a few minutes.

"I'm not all dressed up," Kate said.

"You just took a shower and now your make-up and hair is done," Alex said. He glanced at her. "Do you have a date tonight?"

"No!" Kate snapped. She turned back to the window. "Becca might video-chat me later tonight, and you never know if she's going to record it and post it online."

Alex shrugged. "I won't tell Mom that you've got a date," he said. "I just wanted to know."

"It's not a date," Kate said. With that she stood up, grabbed her phone, and made her way outside. The sun was almost completely gone and still, Oliver was nowhere in sight. She debated if she should go knock on his front door, or even jump the fence, but she thought that would set off the alarms. However, she approached the fence, hoping that he was waiting just as she had been,

A moment later, she spotted something on the roof of his house, a figure in all black. It went sprinting down the length and the jumped impossibly far, landing on a tree branch above her. She stumbled back as the figure jumped down from the branch, and caught her arm as she fell, stopping her from hitting the ground. She stared in shock at Oliver, who was smiling at her.

"What are you?" Kate asked, staring at him with wide blue eyes.

Oliver pulled her back into a standing position. "I'm a Nephilim, an ancient race of men with angel blood running though our veins."


	5. IV

Chapter IV

Kate stared at Oliver for a moment. "You're an... angel?"

"No, I have angel blood," Oliver corrected her. "There's a difference. Note the lack of wings."

"So, do all... Neph-i-lims... am I saying that right?" Kate asked.

"Close," Oliver said. "We usually say it as one word. Nephilim. And no 'S' is needed to pluralize it."

"Do you all fight monsters?" She asked.

"Most," Oliver said. "Once we're old enough to. There are a few that don't, but they're stripped of their angelic marks and tossed from our society. Mostly they choose to be separated. But, we really call ourselves Shadowhunters more than anything else. As, that's what we do. We hunt down demons and rogue Downworlders."

"So, angels really exist?" Kate asked.

"Yes, they do."

"And they really have wings?"

"Well, I've never seen one myself," Oliver said. "But as far as I know, they do. All the pictures, sculptures, all show them with wings."

Kate ran a hand through her silky blonde hair. "Why are you telling me all this?" She asked finally. "After all, you could have made it all up. Told me I was insane and I probably would have believed you if you played it out correctly."

"Actually, I'm glad you bring that up," Oliver said, brightening a bit. "You see, nine years ago, there was a war, Shadowhunters against the Endarkened, who were all Shadowhunters that had been forced to drink from a demonic cup that ripped out their souls. A lot of Shadowhunters died. A lot."

"And..." Kate asked.

"Shadowhunters keep the world safe from demons," Oliver explained. "With our numbers depleted it's harder to keep the demons and Downworlders in check."

"Okay... still not understanding you," Kate said.

Oliver smiled at her. It was clear that he was excited. "How would you like the chance to train and become something more than you ever imagined you could be. You could fight demons too. You're young, athletic, and healthy and have the Sight. We have an academy in the Nephilim homeland, Idris, where you could train. Drink from the Mortal Cup and become a Shadowhunter yourself."

"Excuse me?" Kate asked.

"We're looking for people like you, and like Laura, that can train and become Shadowhunters," Oliver said.

"Wait, like Laura?" Kate asked.

"I'm sure she has the Sight as well," Oliver said. "As I said, I can put on an invisibility rune, and she, like you, could see me when I did." Oliver shook his head. "But, look, I really think you should consider becoming a Shadowhunter."

"Why would I want to fight demons?" Kate asked. "That sounds like a death wish more than anything else."

Oliver stared into her eyes. She noted the intimacy of the stare, but didn't dare look away. "Haven't you ever wanted to be something more than yourself?"

"Yeah, but I want to be an actress or a model," Kate said. "Not some super slayer." Her hands went to her hips. "What do I look like to you? Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" She held up a hand. "Wait, don't answer that." She gestured to her body. "Look at me? I'm tiny. I can't hunt down a demon without dying."

"There would be training," Oliver said. "Lots of it. There's an Institute not far from here, near Gurnee, where we could teach you a little before you go to Idris."

"Okay, wait a moment," Kate said laughing a bit. "I am _nawt_ going to some foreign boarding school in a country I've never heard of." She gestured to her house. "My parents would never allow it." She scoffed. "Not to mention I don't want to go. I have friends and a life here. I'm a cheerleader. I'm popular. Why would I want to throw all that away?"

Oliver tilted his head to the side. "To do the world good?"

Kate shook her head. "No." She turned around. "Now, I'm going to do my homework and pretend this never happened."

Oliver shrugged. "Fine, I'll just go to Laura's house and get her opinion."

"She's going to think you're crazy," Kate said.

Oliver smirked at her. "Maybe I am," he said, but then he was running, too fast for a normal human, and jumped the fence of her yard without a break in his stride. Kate chased after him, but by the time she got to the fence, he was rounding the corner of the block. Kate only had one possible advantage over him. She knew where Laura lived. She doubted he knew.

She wasn't sure why she was following him, but she grabbed her brother's bike from the garage and pedaled as fast as she could after him. She hadn't ridden a bike recently, and her legs quickly began to ache from her vigorous pedaling. However, within a few minutes, she was rolling up to Laura's house. She hadn't seen Oliver, so she wondered if he had gone the wrong way... or if he had somehow beaten her there. Dropping the bike, she ran to the door and knocked.

Laura's father, Lorne, answered the door. He was a tall, muscled man, and despite his age, Kate and Becca secretly both agreed that he was very good looking. He shared Laura's coloring, except for the eyes, which Laura got from her mother. "Mr. Hart," Kate said breathing deeply, "is Laura..." Kate's words trailed off. Lorne was clearly not looking at her, but she noticed something else. A black tattoo on his hand that she had never really thought about before. It was the same as one of Oliver's runes.

"Get inside," Lorne said quickly, grabbing Kate's arm and pulling her in before slamming the door closed. "Illiana, lock the doors and windows," he called into the house.

"What's going on?" Kate asked, doing her best not to show her panic.

"Dad, what's up?" Laura asked, coming out of her room wearing workout clothes. She tilted her head. "Hey, Kate, what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you," Kate said, scurrying up the stairs to her friend. She was aware that Laura's father followed her, but he walked past her into the living room.

"Are you okay?" Laura asked. She reached up her hand against Kate's forehead. "No fever."

Kate lowered her voice. "Oliver... he... and your dad."

Laura looked past Kate. Kate turned to see Lorne open a cabinet. Inside, instead of alcohol which Kate had always assumed it stored, were weapons. A lot of weapons. Lorne grabbed a sword.

"Um... Dad..."

"I'll explain later," Lorne said. He walked up to the door just as there was a knock. Lorne glanced at his wife, who had just emerged from the kitchen, before opening up. "Step back, Shadowhunter," he said, sword pointed at the door. Kate caught a glimpse of Oliver, his hands up.

Oliver stared at the man before him, but took a step back, as instructed. After all, the man held a long sword edged with Adamas pointed at his chest. But that wasn't what surprised Oliver the most. "You're a Shadowhunter," he said.

"I've left the business," Lorne said.

"You saved my life," Oliver said. Because the man in front of him, Laura's father, had been the Shadowhunter that had saved him and his sister nine years earlier when the Endarkened had attacked.

Lorne narrowed his eyes.

"Nine years ago, you came to Alicante and fought with others," Oliver said. "I was only seven and my sister four. You saved us after my grandmother was killed."

Lorne lowered his sword, but just by a bit. "What do you want?"

Oliver stood frozen for a minute. He didn't know if he should admit that he had come to ask Laura to join the ranks of the Shadowhunters or not. He stepped back again. "I'm here alone," he said. "I came to speak to Laura."

"No!" Lorne yelled and slammed the door closed.

Oliver didn't wait a moment. He pulled out his phone and called his father. If nothing else, he had found a rogue Shadowhunter.

"Ollie, I can't really talk right now," Charles said when he answered the phone a minute later. "Fredrick and I are about to speak to the Lycan Alpha in Milwaukee."

"Remember that girl Laura," Oliver said. "The one I told you about?"

"This can wait until I get home," Charles said.

Oliver knew his father was about to hang up. "She's a Shadowhunter!" He said it quickly so that his father would hear. "Her father is the one that saved Jane and me during the battle with the Endarkened."

There was a pause on the other end. "Where are you," his father finally asked. Oliver gave him the street address. "We're rescheduling with the Lycans. We'll be there soon."

"You're an hour away," Oliver said.

"We'll be there soon," Charles repeated. "Don't do anything stupid." With that, his father hung up.

Oliver looked at the house. He knew that they had locked the doors and all the downstairs windows, but he wondered if they did the same with the top floor. He circled the house a few times, trying to determine which window was Laura's. If there was a window unlocked, it would be her room. Finally, he spotted two figures, one of them clearly Laura from the long red ponytail in her hair. Oliver smirked before crouching.

* * *

"Laura," Kate asked a moment after Lorne closed the door in Oliver's face. "Why does your father have a cabinet of medieval torture weapons?"

"They're plain old weapons," Laura said. She walked forward and closed the cabinet. "We don't believe in guns, but we do believe in protecting ourselves."

"So he has a weapons cabinet?" Kate asked. She held her hands up. "Wait, is your dad an Angel? Or... I'm sorry, a Nephilim?"

Laura lifted her eyebrows. Then she laughed. "I have no idea why you're here. Or why my father just threatened Oliver Foxtrot at sword point, but my dad is not an Angel."

Lorne looked at Laura. "Actually," he said slowly, stepping up. "I _am_ a Nephilim."

Laura turned to her father, then back to Kate. "Okay, you know, I am starting to get very confused," she said. "So, does someone want to explain to me what's going on?"

"I told you that you shouldn't have kept this a secret from her," Illiana said, her arms crossed as she stood in the doorway of the kitchen. She smiled. "Does anyone want some hot cocoa?"

"What secret?" Laura asked.

Lorne took a deep breath, and sat down on a chair. "Laura, I'm from a race of Nephilim, that is, men with angel blood." He looked at her. "We're called Shadowhunters, because we fight demons and rogue monsters to keep the world in the hands of those that are good."

"Wait, if you have angel blood," Laura began.

"You are one too," Lorne said. He leaned his head back. "I fell in love with your mother, who, like your friends, is a Mundane. At the time, she would have been a good candidate to train and become a Shadowhunter herself, had the Cup not been lost. I had to make a choice. Be with your mother and be stripped of my marks, or leave her."

"So you stayed with Mom," Laura said. "You lost your marks, whatever those are."

"But he hasn't," Kate said. She pointed at him. "Look, his tattoos. They're Runes, just like Oliver's."

"I faked my death," Lorne said. "Your mother was pregnant and the choice... I knew that I would need to protect the both of you and I wouldn't be able to without my marks."

Laura took a deep breath. She was getting jumbled information, none of which made sense. She looked at her mother, who just shrugged. "This is his duty to tell you." Illiana then looked at Lorne. "How about you start from the beginning, Honey. I'll make that Cocoa. Kate?"

"Oh, no, I'm staying right here," Kate said. "Oliver Foxtrot just tried to convince me to train to be one, so I'm still interested."

Lorne shook his head. "Foxtrot," he said. "A name I know well."

"Dad, focus," Laura said. "What am I and what is going on?"

"Take a seat, Laura," Lorne said, gesturing to one of the living room chairs.

"No. I'm staying standing until I get an explanation," she said. "And a full one."

Lorne looked out a window for a second. "You know how you sometimes see creatures that you know cannot be real?" Lorne questioned. "Monsters, vampires, and giant wolves. You used to crawl into bed with your mother and me whenever you thought you saw one outside."

"Okay, I stopped doing that when I was five," Laura said. "The nightmares stopped happening."

"Those weren't nightmares, Laura," Lorne said. "You'd look outside and you would _see_ it. And they were all real. From that Leprechaun that stole your locket you had left outside to the vampires that you thought were killing bunnies to the pure monsters that lurked just around the corner."

Laura felt her body getting stiffer.

"That, Laura, is why I train you," Lorne continued. "Because, I knew that someday, I would have to tell you, and then you'd be allowed to make a choice. Join the Clave and fight like a Shadowhunter, or remain hidden and anonymous, like anyone you'd find walking down the street."

"And when, exactly, were you planning on telling me?" Laura asked. She scoffed. "Were you waiting until I was an adult with a career?"

"Laura, you're hardly being fair," Lorne said, standing up.

" _I'm_ not being fair?" Laura asked. "You told me that those were nightmares! That I had an over-active imagination! You lied to me. And now I learn I'm not even human?"

Laura's eyes flashed and she spun around, running to her room where she slammed the door. There was a knock a moment later.

"Go away, Dad!" Laura yelled.

"Uh, Laura, it's Kate..." Kate's voice came in.

Laura took a deep breath, then opened the door. "I'm sorry you had to see that," Laura said, ushering Kate in and closing the door behind her friend. She then locked it.

"Honestly, I was a little afraid you might have known," Kate said. "Or that you would take it calmly and with grace."

Laura rolled her blue eyes. She then began pacing. "But, can you believe the nerve of him. I should have known long ago exactly what I was and instead I've been lied to my whole life. And what do you have to do with this, anyway?"

"All I know is that I have something called the Sight," Kate said. "Which means I can see what others can't."

"Like what?" Laura asked.

"Like a demon that attacked Oliver Foxtrot last night in his backyard that no one else in my family could see or hear," Kate said. "That's why I was acting weird this morning. Because I was so sure that it couldn't be real, but if it wasn't real, that meant I was going crazy."

Laura looked at her friend, and was about to speak when something hit her window and both girls jumped and yelped. However, then she saw that it was Oliver, having somehow landed on her windowsill. She looked at him for a moment, before stepping forward and opening the window. "So, I'm some sort of angel-person, huh?" She ased.

"It would seem so," Oliver said. He stayed crouched on the sill.

"Do you need something?" Kate asked.

Oliver smiled. "Just wanted to know if you're interested in seeing what it is that Shadowhunters actually do," he said.

Laura smirked. "Do I need to wear all black?" She asked.

"You don't need to," Oliver said. "But it is advised."

She turned to Kate. "Wanna come?" She asked before opening up her closet and grabbing a black hoodie.

Kate sighed. "We are _so_ going to get in trouble with your dad for this," she said, but accepted the black sweater Laura held out for her.


End file.
